Planning
for the partial or complete transfer of ownership of a business is a reality
many firms will be facing over the next 5 to 10 years. Whether you are bringing
in an outsider to transfer partial ownership or planning for the complete sale
of your business, having the right plan and resources to assist with the
transition are key. This session will provide some building blocks for
successfully managing ownership change and aligning interests, including the
following:

Harvard Business Review did a great story on the value of early stage investors. They do make entrepreneurs get professional very fast. The owner of the business finds out that they are not the only person in the room who knows what they are doing - there are some financial activities that add a significant boost to revenues. Problem that I see, owners resist getting in Angels or VCs because they think it will take away their profits. Here is a quick excerpt from HBR:

A 2010 New York Times story on lean start-ups cites experts who see a “shrinking role for venture capitalists in seeking and backing promising young entrepreneurs,” as alternatives including angel investors gain favor. Fresh research by Josh Lerner and William Kerr of Harvard Business School bolsters this argument with evidence that entrepreneurs who obtain angel investing are more likely to survive at least four years and show improved performance.

Another reason VC’s star is on the wane: Research by University of Chicago economist John H. Cochrane shows that investments in VC portfolio firms did not outperform investments in other NASDAQ stocks during the boom period of the 1990s.

A business owner’s greatest worry when trying to sell the company is the prospect of receiving an inadequate price by the acquirer or being undervalued.

One of the drags on the value of a business is customer concentration. For owners planning to sell in the next five to 10 years, exporting is one way to diversify a customer base. “It’s too risky to export,” entrepreneurs often say when they’re asked about taking their brands beyond the Canadian market. “It would be a financial drain and a time suck.”

Marketability is a particular issue for companies with enterprise values below $30-million, according to business broker Mike Haines, managing partner of M & A Network in Oakville, Ont.. “Retail is the most hard hit and hardest to sell, along with restaurants. No one really wants to get into labour intensive properties that have minimal returns and face risks due to rising transportation costs.”

You have to reconfigure the business so it runs smoothly without you, he advised. “One of the best measures of a good business is if the owner can go away for three months and the business can still continue to operate smoothly and the customers don’t miss the owner. That’s what a buyer wants to see.”

A strategy that can pay significant dividends is to bring in an investor to give the business a boost, suggested Jacoline Loewen, director of Crosbie., in Toronto. “The advice we give is five to 10 years before you want to sell, bring in strategic investors or private equity, that will buy a portion of the business,” typically about 30 per cent, she said.

“It’s a really good discipline for owners, because many entrepreneurs are used to having everyone agreeing with them because they have all the power. Sole owners also find it hard to believe that someone else would take the business and grow it far beyond what they’re doing currently. An equity owner will ask questions and look for efficiencies and ways to grow the business, Ms. Loewen explained.

“It may be the first time an owner is challenged to quantify their success and go through a comprehensive strategy process, she said. You’d be amazed how few small-business owners have figured out their key performance indicators and what drives the success of the business.”

Investing for You, Your Business and Your Family

Your life is a mixture of ambitions and commitments. We can help you fulfill them.

At UBS Bank (Canada), our reputation for outstanding global investment expertise combined with our confidentiality and security entices discerning investors around the world to entrust us with trillions of dollars of assets.

Wealth management is our core business and we have a platform that is unlike any other in Canada. We leverage UBS's global resources and capabilities to help you reach your financial goals.

We offer an outstanding private client experience - an experience we believe no one else in Canada can deliver.

We provide a purposeful and custom approach to investment management with a focus on wealth preservation and risk management.

We're not your typical wealth management team. Our advice and process will intrigue you and help you:

-Measure and work toward reaching your self-defined life goals

-Make better decisions

-Create a system that revolves around you, your family, your community

Jacoline Loewen is Director of Business Development of UBS Bank (Canada), named Best Private Bank Globally 2014.

Prior to joining UBS, Ms. Loewen specialized in finance for private capital business, owner-operators and family businesses, specifically acquisitions, restructuring, sales, successions and private equity financing. She has over 20 year' experience working with owner-operators, family enterprises and in strategy. Jacoline Loewen is interested in wealth management n topics such as:

-Investment management - how to evalute your overall investment strategy. It comes down to one nymber that you need to know.

"Entrepreneurs and family business owners seek out my help to help with the tough process of succession or transition to the sale of the company. Business owners value understanding how to anticipate sudden wealth and how to transition wealth to their families."

Call, Email, Visit – Whatever you do, definitely contact me to learn more! We help people plan their finances and invest their money. For more on our fee-only registered investment advisory services and if we can help you with your investments in any way, please reach out to jacoline.loewen@ubs.com

See me on Twitter as JacolineLoewen, and on LinkedIn and Facebook by name. Invited as expert on BNN The Pitch, CBC, Dragons' Den and published by National Post, Globe & Mail, Leadership, Business Entrepreneurs, The Journal, Women's Post, as well as author of three books, the most recent, Money Magnet, is now a text book at Ivey Business School:

Money Magnet.

The feedback we have had about using the steps in Money Magnet is that business owners are surprised by how simple it is to understand, how much more money they can invest and earn and how shockingly few of their lawyers and accountants were aware of the benefits.

- Get factual case studies about the power of succession planning with strong life style goals. Do you want to retire rich - then understand the ROI of your business compared to the ROI of an investment portfolio.

- Know why selling your business is not the first option.

- Learn the Four Brutal Questions every Business Owner needs to know to attract investors.

- Find out how to know how much you need to fit your business, your lifestyle and your goals for wealth.

Read Ivey Business School's Pick for Finance

Investing Strategy

Services

For 150 years, people have been trusting UBS to manage their wealth. We provide investment advice based on critical thinking and thoughtful research once we fully understand what you want to accomplish. Together, we create an all-encompassing strategy for your investments, estate and tax planning, risk management, and borrowing.

Our Focus: We build custom investment portfolios and wealth management strategies that draw upon UBS's global knowledge.Our Clients: We work with individuals, families, and organizations with investable assets greater than $2,000,000Our Services: At a minimum, you can expect quarterly performance reviews, ongoing investment management, and comprehensive Estate and Tax Planning servicesOur Fees: Our typical all-inclusive tax deductible annual fee ranges between 1% - 1.5% of the money you invest depending on complexityOur Process: We apply a prudent approach and long term strategies to build investment portfolios following these steps:

Map and execute a financial plan to meet your current needs and future aspirations.

Provide advice on the financial decisions you need to make to better manage your investment portfolio, debt and cashflow levels.

Plan, strategize and execute a viable solution for the transfer of your wealth and assets to reduce or defer taxes.

Monitor and rebalance.

With the UBS approach, your dedicated wealth manager works with a team of of financial experts to help you achieve your goals.

Rick Spence, Business Writer, National Post, says:

"A lot of business people still have trouble with the concept of strategic planning. They wonder who should do it, and what it's for. I just encountered a great explanation of strategy. It comes from a book, The Power of Strategy by Jacoline Loewen.

"I think that strategy is very similar to the search for the Holy Grail. Renowned knights traveled great distances and overcame severe hardship in the struggle to find this sacred relic, the chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper. Finally, Sir Galahad was the one who discovered that the Holy Grail is, in fact, within us. There is no right or wrong answer -- it is the journey that provides the learning, not the Holy Grail itself.

In strategy, it is the process of people going through the questioning and thinking that ingrains the strategy into their everyday actions, not the plan itself."